Football and inclusion: It all comes down to the right motivational climate

Playing football has the potential to promote the inclusion of young people who are not from the predominant culture of a country, i.e. young migrants. Crucially, the feeling of belonging and being accepted depends on the trainer's approach to training—or more precisely, the motivational climate they create. Task-oriented training is significantly more suitable than training that is geared towards performance and competition. This is the conclusion of a recent study by an international team of researchers, including Anne-Marie Elbe, Professor of Sports Psychology at Leipzig University. The finding is of social importance because experiences in adolescence in particular have a formative influence on attitudes and behavior in later life.